terrify

Terrify is a verb meaning to cause extreme fear or to fill someone with intense fear. It is typically transitive, as in “The sudden crash terrified the crowd,” with fear directed at a person or group. The past participle form is terrified, and the related noun is terror; the related adjective is terrifying.

Etymology and history: Terrify derives from Latin terrere, meaning “to frighten,” combined with the English suffix -fy to form a verb. It entered English in the early modern period, with its sense consistently centered on inducing strong fear.

Usage and nuance: Terrify often implies a stronger or more immediate fear than synonyms such as frighten or scare. It can describe both real danger and alarming situations, as well as metaphorical or psychological fear, such as thoughts or memories that terrify someone. The construction can be active or passive: the film terrified the audience; the audience was terrified.

Synonyms, related terms, and contrasts: Close synonyms include frighten, scare, petrify, and appall; antonyms include reassure, calm, and comfort. In grammar, terrify is a transitive verb; its participial form functions as an adjective (terrified) and its present participle form (terrifying) describes the source of the fear.

See also: terror, terrifying, fear.